More than 350 men from across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis gathered for Mass, speakers, songs and prayers March 18 at the first Archdiocesan Men’s Conference since 2019 and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many voiced their support for Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s post-Synod pastoral letter released in November, “You Will be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent from the Upper Room.”

The Catholic Watchmen movement sponsored the day at All Saints in Lakeville, said Deacon Gordon Bird, a conference organizer and Catholic Watchmen leader. “It’s in step with what we’ve been trying to do for a long time in this crisis of spirit — to promote authentic fatherhood and encourage men to step up more,” he said.

The conference’s theme, Men of Faith Walking Together — Raising the Bar, and its focus on men as small group leaders of their families, dovetailed with the archbishop’s pastoral letter, which among other initiatives supports families as the primary small group. The letter also called for, and has spurred creation of, Synod Evangelization Teams from each parish to “begin the process of creating or growing small group ministries that foster personal relationships, build community, and provide formation to help parishioners grow as joyful missionary disciples of Christ.”

Archbishop Hebda celebrated the Mass. His homily centered on the humility needed to realize God’s gifts. Humility is the door through which virtues enter people’s lives, the archbishop said.

Likening the archdiocese’s revitalization efforts through small group evangelization to the tale of a magnificent monastery in Germany, the archbishop told how the monastery flourished for a thousand years until it was suppressed, separated from the Church, and reduced to a building with two monks and a cow. The two monks were committed in their humility to rebuild, the Lord blessed them, and the monastery was restored over time.

“We have the opportunity, brothers, to do amazing things when we put our gifts at the service of the Lord,” the archbishop concluded.

Devin Schadt, co-founder of Pennsylvania-based Fathers of St. Joseph, an apostolate that works for the renewal of authentic fatherhood, gave the keynote address. His daughter Anna Marie, one of five children, was left dependent on a wheelchair for mobility after a delay in medical treatment left her with brain damage, Schadt said. In that situation and others, he has been confronted with his own challenges as a father, he said.

“I hate giving talks,” Schadt began, “because I don’t know your setbacks, your challenges. But I can be a messenger of hope.” Great lives are built with small actions, and sometimes taking little steps is better than waiting for that one big thing before acting, he said.

Using statistics to paint a picture of the importance of fatherhood in America, he said only 1% of the U.S. population consists of Catholic men who attend Mass and pray daily.

“Spiritual fatherhood is a summons to sacrificial duty,” Schadt said. If the Church is to be renewed, the family must be restored, beginning with the father, he said. Yet how many men are in a state of mortal sin and unable to transmit grace, he asked, citing divorce and preoccupations with pornography.

“Hell is loneliness and isolation,” Schadt said. “The devil leaves us alone with ourselves, and we are tormented.”

Don’t be tempted to think God is against people in their trials and tribulations, Schadt said. “The devil is against you and wants you to … forget yourself and your spirituality,” he said.

Little steps in life can include rising at dawn and praying in a dedicated spot. “Give yourself to God — just tell him where you’re at,” Schadt said. “He knows, but he wants to talk with you about it.”

Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams addressed the men and connected the archdiocese’s priority of cultivating small-group parish ministries with the need to strengthen families. “The primordial small group is the family, and this small group leader is the father,” he said, giving the example of how his physician father attended Mass on a daily basis. Bishop Williams also advocated for more than wordless witness. “The Church exists to evangelize, but most of us are asleep to that vocation,” he said.

Deacon Joseph Michalak, director of the Office of Synod Evangelization, followed with some thoughts on the importance of fraternal care — making places where men can support each other. “We love talking about ‘March Madness’ and politics on the surface, but most of us don’t have that place where we can open up and talk about what’s troubling us,” he said.

Deacon Bird said the men’s conference is a place men can be in community to walk and pray together, energize and equip each other in body and soul.

“We were all being fed in unique ways, spiritually fed — and that was the purpose,” he said.

Takeaways from the conference

Brian Smith, St. Hubert, Chanhassen

“(Something) that stood out to me was breaking down what the actual role of the father is — not just in his capacity to serve his Lord, but in his family environment. I really appreciated it.”

Theo van Blyenburgh, St. Hubert , Chanhassen

“I was taken aback by the statistic shared that if a woman, a mother, chooses to live a life of faith, then 17 percent of the time the children will follow — but if the father chooses to live a life of faith, then it goes up to something like 90-93 percent.”

Daunt Yang, Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul

“I have four young children, three in grade school, and I’m very worried for them because of the way government and society is moving away from faith. (Devin) touched on a couple things I can do as a father to lead my children away from sin.”

Txongxue Chang, Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul

“It was empowering! The message we received today is very strong because it is very connected to what I’m doing with my family.”

Peter Schoen, All Saints, Lakeville

“Seeing this wonderful turnout, I think, says a lot for the need for events like this.”

Mike Cole, St. Nicholas, New Market

“This was a wonderful event . . . It’s a big enough fight out there as it is without us doing anything. As we’re getting downstream, we’ve got kids, grandkids, and great grandkids coming up. You want to do something for them — you want to make sure they have their faith, because society isn’t providing that.”

Kevin Waldbillig, All Saints, Lakeville

“For me, the best thing was, being Lent, I needed to be recharged. I needed something to get me through the rest of Lent, and this was it. It grounded me and got me to think about being a father (and a son) . . . and how I can be the best I can be for my own boys.”

Joe Becker, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings

“I didn’t realize how big an influence we are for our families.”

Jim Debilzan, St. John the Baptist, New Brighton

“My takeaway is I get inspiration for hope of more men being inspired when we get together like this. And when you hear men singing and men chanting and things of that nature, it just gives you hope that there is more solidarity out there.”

Brother Didacus Gottsacker, Franciscan Brothers of Peace, St. Paul

“I try to come every year. It’s that solidarity, that experience of this great community and fraternity of men.”